Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® Card review: Earn travel rewards with fair credit
A rare chance for fair credit cardholders who like to travel to earn rewards
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Snapshot
3.2
Bottom line
This card is one of the best and only travel cards on the market for people with fair credit, with rewards rates rivaling some premium travel cards. However, these perks come at a high price, making the card less than ideal if your main goal is to build credit rather than earn rewards.
Intro offer
N/A
Rewards Rate
1X - 10X
Annual fee
$95
Regular APR
28.99%* Variable
4.3
Cardholder rating
Online tools
Customer service
Information safe
Extra perks
3.2
Bankrate score
Cost of membership
Ease of building credit
APR
Features
Why you'll like this: It’s one of the few travel cards available for fair credit and includes an exceptional rewards rate on eligible travel purchases.
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Credit One Bank Wander Card Overview
While it’s far from the best travel credit card out there, the Credit One Wander Card fills a gap in the travel rewards card market: It’s one of the few travel cards available for people with fair credit. It offers a surprisingly high rewards rate and doesn’t restrict you to earning rewards with specific airlines or hotels. Plus, since it’s an unsecured card, you don’t have to worry about putting money down for a security deposit as you would with a secured card.
However, it comes at a cost of $95 per year, which is high for a card for fair credit and costly for cardholders who may want to focus on building credit rather than paying to access it. This cost is on par with some of the best travel and rewards credit cards on the market, but its rewards don’t pack the same punch. While the card offers a mix of redemption options, its rewards program can’t compete with the flexibility of top travel cards from Chase, American Express and Capital One.
If you have fair credit, you may be eager to earn big rewards on travel with the Credit One Wander Card, but a lower-cost credit-building card may make more sense to establish healthy habits until you qualify for better cards.
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Rewards
- 10X points on eligible hotel and car rentals booked using the Credit One Bank travel
- 5X points on eligible travel, including flights, dining, and gas purchases
- 1X points on all other purchases
Expert Appraisal: Exceptional
See our expert analysis -
Welcome offer
- None
Expert Appraisal: Weak
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- $95 annual fee
- Ongoing APR: 28.99%* Variable
- Up to $39 late payment and returned payment fees
- 5 percent cash advance fee (minimum $10)
- No foreign transaction fees
Expert Appraisal: Unimpressive
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Zero fraud liability
- Flexible payment due date
- Free credit score access
- Automatic credit increase opportunities
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis
Credit One Wander Card pros and cons
Pros
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The card has generous rewards rates that aren’t limited to specific hotel or airline brands, which means more flexible redemption options.
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You can get prequalified online without a hard inquiry on your credit report, which is a major plus if you’re not sure you’ll be approved.
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You can qualify for the card with fair credit, which is rare for a travel rewards card.
Cons
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The rewards program and redemption options come with more restrictions than most other reward cards
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The $95 annual fee is very high for a card available to consumers with fair credit.
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Credit One Bank's rewards travel providers may change, making it hard to plan future redemptions.
Why you might want the Credit One Bank Wander Credit Card
The Credit One Wander Credit Card is a superb choice if you want reward flexibility, but you don’t yet have the credit score for a better rewards card. Also, this card allows you to offset its annual fee thanks to the card’s rewards on everyday expenses, such as gas and dining.
Recommended credit score: Accessible to a wider group
Since nearly all travel cards require you to have at least good credit for approval, the Credit One Wander Card is a rare find on the market and a boon if you have less than good credit. The card is especially handy if you spend a lot of time on the road or in hotels thanks to its elevated rewards rates on eligible travel, gas, hotel and rental car bookings.
Rewards rate: Big on travel and shopping
The Credit One Bank Wander Card offers generous rewards rates for a credit card available to consumers with fair credit. In fact, it has perhaps the highest and widest-reaching rates available in a credit-building card category. You can earn 10X points on eligible hotels and car rentals using a Credit One Bank travel partner, 5X points on eligible travel, including flights, dining and gas purchases and 1X points on all other purchases.
The card’s rates even rival some premier travel rewards cards on the market, making it a competitive rewards option if you don’t prioritize travel perks like credits for expedited security screening or transferring points to travel partners (neither of which are available with the Wander card).
The Credit One Bank Wander Card also comes with a bonus program called the More Cash Back Rewards Program that lets you earn up to 10 percent more cash back from eligible purchases at participating merchants. Credit One frequently also adds new offers to the program, similar to other issuers’ card-linked offer programs, such as Amex Offers.
Why you might want a different travel card
While the rewards rate and accessibility are great, the card’s $95 annual fee still stings because of the lack of card benefits. Plus, redeeming the points you earn with this card can be challenging because of its redemption limitations.
Annual fee: High for a fair-credit card
The Credit One Bank Wander Card’s $95 annual fee is higher than what you'd find on other credit cards for fair credit (some cards charge no fees at all) or travel cards without premium benefits. This fee is worth factoring into your budget since it can potentially offset a sizable chunk of your yearly earned rewards.
There are more affordable cards for building credit, and they’re arguably more valuable in your wallet than this card. Many credit-building cards lack hefty fees and offer features to help you build credit quickly. Still, the fee may be worth it if you think you’ll spend enough in the Wander card’s categories to offset it every year.
Benefits: Only the basics are included
This card includes essential card protections and features, including zero liability, contactless payments and access to free credit scores. These perks can provide you with peace of mind and are easy to use. However, these perks are industry standard and lacking considering the card’s annual fee.
The only unique feature is Credit One’s Credit Protection Program. In the event of involuntary unemployment or disability, you can waive your minimum payment for up to six months if you pay 96 cents per $100 of your new monthly balance. For example, if you have a $1000 balance on your card, you’ll only be required to pay $9.60 under the Protection Program.
However, there's a catch. Rather than activating immediately, it will take 30 days for your policy to take effect. Your account is frozen during this time, but compound interest will continue to accrue. Since this can snowball your balance when you might not be able to make your minimum payment to begin with, you might consider a more cost-effective debt management plan that won’t pose the risk of overextending and closing your account.
Welcome offer: No intro bonus available
Unlike most travel rewards cards, the Credit One Bank Wander Card does not offer a welcome bonus. In the past, the card has offered bonuses as high as 10,000 points after you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days (equivalent to $100 toward a statement credit, gift cards or travel), so now may not be the best time to apply if your priority is earning rewards rather than building credit.
That said, sign-up bonuses are hard to find on cards for fair credit in general. There's also no telling if Credit One will offer a bonus on this card again, so it's still worth a look if the Wander card aligns with your goals.
Redemption: Plagued by travel restrictions
You have several options for redeeming your rewards with this card: Statement credits (in 1,000-point increments), gift cards, merchandise and travel. However, while the statement credit, gift card and merchandise options are cut and dry, travel redemptions come with a few caveats.
Many travel card rewards programs guarantee at least 1 cent per point in redemption value when you redeem for travel. The value you receive from your Wander card points, however, will vary depending on your booking details. In addition, you can only redeem for travel through Credit One Bank’s travel portal, which partners with Aspire Loyalty Travel Solutions, LLC. This means you can’t use or transfer your points to book directly with airlines, hotels and other travel vendors for a better deal.
How the Credit One Wander compares to other rewards cards for fair credit
While the Credit One Wander card is a rewards card, it’s best to compare it to other cards that accept fair credit. If you don't travel much, a flat-rate rewards card might be a better fit. Or, if your focus is building credit, you might consider a secured card instead.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
10X points on eligible hotel and car rentals booked using the Credit One Bank travel partner. 5X points on eligible dining, gas, and travel purchases. 1X points on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply. Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings. 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs. Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Who is the Credit One Bank Wander Card for?
If you have fair credit and love to travel or prefer dining out, the Credit One Bank Wander Card might be the perfect addition to your wallet.
Bankrate’s Take — Is the Credit One Bank Wander Card worth it?
The Credit One Bank Wander Card is worth considering if you’re focused on earning travel rewards while improving your credit score. Its generous rewards rates in several categories and its standard card protections are a huge advantage for potential cardholders with fair credit.
However, you’ll have to pay a $95 annual fee with the card, which will cut into your yearly rewards earnings. The card’s rewards rate on non-category purchases is also low, making it a poor card for earning rewards outside of travel. Considering the lack of perks, you may be better off building your credit score with a more cost-effective credit-building option.
*The information about Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
How we rated this card
We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.
Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).
We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:
Frequently asked questions
What cardholders think
Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards
In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.
Community Reviews
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
